Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the more restricted countries in Africa where comes to gambling. Most forms of betting are illegal under chapter 22 of the criminal code.

There are some exceptions and these include the national lottery which is very popular. There are also three licensed casinos in the country. Some skill-based card games are also legal. There is a penalty for unlawful gambling in the country which ranges from a small fine to a short prison sentence.

The penalties for companies or banks promoting gambling is much greater. But there are still a lot of underground casinos and black market bookies as well as unauthorised lotteries in the country.

Sports betting and casino gambling can take place in Nigeria as long as they are done in one of the authorised land-based casinos.

But there aren’t any specific laws when it comes to online gambling in the country. At this point in time Nigeria doesn’t have a huge percentage of the current population using the internet and so the take up isn’t great. But obviously over the next few years many more people will be using the internet and legislation may come into play with regards online gambling. At the moment the Lawes are fairly foggy where it comes to online gambling and sports betting.

Two companies did try to open up their own online betting companies in Nigeria in 2013 but after about a year in operation they both closed due to legal and financial problems.

But online sports betting is becoming more regulated as time passes and it is now possible to bet online with several companies. Bet365naija and Nairabet are two of the biggest companies which offer sports betting in Nigeria.

As with so many other countries in Africa football is the most popular sport that people like to bet on- it is a football mad country.